Beaches in Harwich Port, MA

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Harwich Port, West and East Harwich, Harwich and South Harwich are collectively known as the Harwiches. The Massachusetts towns on the south shore of Cape Cod facing Nantucket Sound have no noticeable geographic distinctions between them. The Harwiches as a whole give tourists a choice of 18 saltwater ocean beaches and an additional six beaches on freshwater ponds.

Public Beaches

Bank Street Beach, Red River Beach, Earle Road Beach and Pleasant Road Beach are among the public beaches on Nantucket Sound. Because Bank Street Beach is an easy four-tenths of a mile walk south of Harwich Port's Route 28 amenities, this two-mile stretch of white sand running from Allen Harbor to the Wychmere Harbor jetty fills up early in the day. Red River and Pleasant Road beaches in South Harwich seldom fill to capacity. Harwich's sandy Earle Road Beach has grass-covered dunes and rock jetties jutting into the sea.

Private Beaches

Visitors can ensure a spot on the beach by staying at a surfside hotel or inn, where they will wake to the sound of waves breaking on the shore. Private beaches blend seamlessly into Bank Street Beach for ocean access. In Harwich Port, private beaches are found at the Wychmere Harbor Club (longwoodevents.com), the Inn on the Beach (capecodinnonthebeach.com), the Winstead Inn Beach Resort (winsteadinn.com) and Dunscroft by the Sea (dunscroftbythesea.com). Property brokers offer weekly and monthly house and condominium rentals, giving vacationers another option for a private Harwich beach.

Freshwater Pond Beaches

Lifeguards are on duty seasonally at Sand Pond Beach in northwest Harwich. Bucks Pond is in East Harwich; Long, Seymour and Hinckley's ponds are north of Route 6, the Mid-Cape Highway. Long Pond Beach, north of Harwich Center, has two swimming areas with seasonal lifeguards: Fernandez Bog and Wixon Memorial Beach. Private vacation homes for rent in the vicinity of Harwich's private freshwater ponds often include beach privileges and dock use.

Considerations

Parking is limited at all beaches, so arrive early to find a spot. Resident and non-resident beach parking stickers are required at Bank Street, Earle Road, Pleasant Road, Red River and Sea Street beaches and at all ponds except Hinckley's Pond, which has no parking. Stickers are available daily, beginning the second Monday in June through Labor Day, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Harwich Community Center (harwichcommunitycenter.org). Daily parking stickers are sold only at Red River, Earle Road and Long Pond beaches. Bank Street, Earle Road and Red River beaches have restroom facilities, and portable facilities are available at Seymour and Wixon Memorial beaches. Tourist season on the Cape begins in mid-June when east coast schools let out and winds down following Labor Day weekend. The busiest months are July and August.

About the Author

Karen Sweeny-Justice is a writer living in Surprise, Ariz. Her work has appeared in "Writer's Digest" magazine and "RubberStampMadness" magazine, as well as in newspapers around the United States. She also writes book reviews for "RT Book Reviews" magazine.